Supreme Court Chair sues deputy over involvement in Čunek case

The chairwoman of the Czech Supreme Court, Iva Brožová, has filed a lawsuit against her deputy, Pavel Kučera, over his controversial involvement in the prosecution of former deputy PM Jiří Čunek. Mr Kučera stands accused of exerting pressure upon state attorneys dealing with Mr Čunek’s case to put a halt to proceedings. Mr Kučera has denied all charges. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court said that at this stage no further information would be divulged so as to observe Mr Kučera’s presumption of innocence, and so as not to influence the panel of judges dealing with his case. Mr Kučera is accused of meeting the regional state attorney in Ostrava in a bid to influence the investigation into whether the head of the Christian Democrats, Mr Čunek, accepted a half-a-million-crown bribe in 2002.